Seven registered voters have submitted applications to fill the seat on the Needham Housing Authority Board of Commissioners that came open when member Penny Kirk opted to resign less than halfway through her five-year term.
Under the process established by the town, the remaining four members of the NHA board and the whole of the five-member Select Board will vote to choose Kirk’s successor. The vote will take place on June 10 at a joint meeting of the two boards.
The seven candidates are scheduled to be interviewed in private this week by the two vice chairs of the boards, Cathy Dowd from the Select Board and Jim Flanagan from the NHA. After the interviews, Dowd and Flanagan will make their recommendation to their colleagues and will have the option of putting one or more names forward.
According to Town Counsel Chris Heep, the appointment will require a majority vote from the combined membership of the Select Board and Housing Authority. “I believe the voting members are free to vote for any of the applicants they wish,” Heep told the Observer via email, and not just those recommended by Dowd and Flanagan.
Six of the seven applicants have sought, served in or are currently serving in some elected capacity in town. They include four Town Meeting members, two voters who ran unsuccessful campaigns for the NHA board in each of the last two years and two residents of NHA properties.
Here are the applicants:
CONNIE BARR
A familiar name to Needham voters, Barr opted not to seek reelection to a seventh term on the School Committee in last month’s annual town election.
Dr. Barr is a primary care physician, 41-year town resident and 17-year Town Meeting member with a lengthy resume of community service.
AMANDA BERMAN
Berman is an eight-year town resident whose professional resume includes multiple roles related to housing, including six years as director of housing and community development for the city of Newton.
She was elected to Town Meeting in April and is currently a housing policy and advocacy liaison for Metro West Collaborative Development.
RACHEL CRIMLISK
Crimlisk is a 30-year Needham resident and lives at the NHA’s Seabeds Way property.
She is the only candidate not to have sought or held elected or appointed office in town, but has served as a poll worker.
ROSS DONALD
Donald is a Needham native, has lived at the NHA’s Linden Street property for 14 years and is head of the Linden/Chambers Residents Association.
He is a former Town Meeting member who has twice run unsuccessfully for a seat on the NHA board, most recently losing in 2024 to one of the people who will be interviewing him, Jim Flanagan. Prior to retiring he had a long career in community development.
BARBARA McDONALD
A 22-year town resident, McDonald narrowly lost a bid for an open seat on the NHA board in April’s town election to Geoff Engler. She provided no record of town public service and her housing experience includes managing family-owned properties.
She was a high-profile member of the Needham Residents for Thoughtful Zoning (NRTZ) in its successful push to repeal the town’s original MBTA compliance plan after it passed at Town Meeting.
KATE WEINOGRAD
A six-year town resident and Town Meeting member since 2022, Weinograd is a government affairs professional at Home Base, a national nonprofit dedicated to “healing the invisible wounds of war for veterans of all eras.”
An attorney, her housing experience includes representing tribal governments on housing development and low-income housing issues.
FELIX ZEMEL
Zemel has served on multiple appointed town boards, including the Design Review Board, the Commission on Disabilities and the Envision Needham Working Group.
His housing experience includes time at the Boston Housing Authority, and he is also an adjunct faculty member in the city planning and urban affairs program at Boston University. In 2018 he ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Board of Health.
What’s Next
Whomever is selected in June will serve through next year’s annual town election in May and be eligible to seek a spot on the ballot to serve out the remaining two years of Kirk’s term.
The NHA owns and manages 336 units of affordable housing across various properties, including Linden Street, Chambers Street, Seabeds Way, Captain Robert Cook Drive, High Rock Estates and High Rock Homes. These units serve income-qualified elders, disabled individuals, and families. It also administers 123 federal Section 8 housing choice vouchers.
The NHA is in the midst of an ambitious preservation and redevelopment initiative in which it is seeking to secure tens of millions of dollars from a variety of funding sources over the next decade to revitalize nearly all of its properties.
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